Abstract

Brain training aims to enhance cognitive processes such as perception, motor control, memory and decision‐making. Emerging
research demonstrates that such cognitive processes can be trained, leading to improvements in everyday functioning that depend
on these processes. As such, brain training is a rich and exciting field that delves into the limits of the human brain and
has potential to benefit everyone's lives. However, while brain training shows promise, it has also sparked controversy as
results are mixed across studies, and because findings are often sensationalised with an increasing number of commercial brain‐training
products. The field is active and evolving and has the potential to overcome these issues as research clarifies what techniques
show the most promise and uncovers the ingredients that most consistently lead to real‐world benefits.

Key Concepts

Brain training aims at improving the function of one or more cognitive processes.

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Further Reading

Barnett SM and Ceci SJ (2002) When and where do we apply what we learn?: a taxonomy for far transfer. Psychological bulletin 128 (4): 612.